Crypto Scams Targeting Teens
Fake investment schemes, sextortion paid in Bitcoin or gift cards, in-game rug-pulls and Robux trading scams that bridge to crypto wallets. How to spot them and use Action Fraud.
Crypto Scams (Teens) is fraudulent schemes involving cryptocurrency or digital tokens that lure teenagers with promises of quick profits, leading to financial loss or theft of their money.
What is this?
Teenagers are an increasingly attractive target for online financial crime. Common patterns include 'guaranteed return' crypto investment groups, sextortion demands paid in Bitcoin or Amazon / Steam gift cards, fake influencer airdrops, and in-game scams (Robux trading, Fortnite skin scams, rare-item swaps) that bridge to external crypto wallets. Many teens do not tell parents because they feel embarrassed or worry about losing their device or game account. Action Fraud is the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime; calm, early reporting protects both the young person and others being targeted.
How it works
A scammer makes contact in a Discord server, Telegram group, gaming voice chat, or social-media DM, often posing as a peer, gamer, or influencer. They offer an investment 'opportunity', a discounted skin, a free airdrop, or threaten to share an image unless paid. Payment is requested in cryptocurrency or gift cards because they are difficult to reverse. Some scams ask the young person to install a wallet or to share a recovery phrase — which immediately drains any future funds.
Warning signs
In your child's behaviour
- • Sudden requests to buy Amazon, Steam, iTunes, or Google Play gift cards for an online friend
- • Talk of a 'guaranteed' or 'risk-free' investment, often involving someone they have only met online
- • Pressure or panic when checking their phone, especially around messaging apps or gaming platforms
- • Asking to borrow money or selling possessions to send to someone online
- • Sudden interest in setting up a crypto wallet or transferring money out of a savings account
On their device
- • Crypto wallets (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Phantom) installed without parent knowledge
- • Telegram, Discord, or Signal groups with names referring to trading, 'signals' or 'pumps'
- • Browser history showing gift-card top-up sites, exchanges, or fake influencer giveaway pages
Prevention steps
Teach the 'no legitimate person asks for gift cards' rule
Banks, HMRC, police, and real friends do not ask for payment in Amazon, Steam, iTunes, or Google Play vouchers. Make this an explicit family rule. The same applies to anyone asking for a crypto recovery phrase.
Lock down in-game trading and external links
On Roblox, restrict trading and chat. In Fortnite and similar games, talk about how 'free V-Bucks' or 'skin generator' sites are universally scams. Never click external links from in-game chats.
Make it safe to admit a mistake
Shame is the scammer's best friend. Tell your child explicitly that if they ever lose money, send an image, or share a wallet phrase, they will not be in trouble — you will help them report it and move on.
What to do if it happens
- 1Stop all further contact and payment immediately. Do not pay 'one more' instalment — scammers escalate as long as money keeps moving.
- 2Report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk. If the demand involves intimate images, also report to CEOP and IWF, and call 999 if your child is in immediate danger.
- 3Contact your bank to flag any card payments, reset the relevant gaming and email accounts, and check whether crypto wallets have had their seed phrase exposed. Childline (0800 1111) and Samaritans (116 123) can support emotional impact.
Related topics
If you need to report this
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Myths & facts
Myth: Crypto is a safe, modern way for a teenager to grow their savings quickly.
Fact: The FCA's ScamSmart guidance warns that if a crypto investment promises unrealistic or guaranteed returns, this is a classic sign of fraud, not a safe opportunity. The FCA also points out that most crypto related activity is not regulated in the UK, so anyone investing should be prepared to lose everything they put in.
Myth: If a crypto payment goes wrong, the bank or the police can simply get the money back.
Fact: Unlike a card payment, a cryptocurrency transfer cannot be undone once it has been sent. The FCA warns that scammers typically act quickly and close accounts as soon as they receive a payment, and that any later offer to 'recover' lost crypto in exchange for a further fee is itself a common follow up scam.
Myth: Sharing a wallet's recovery or seed phrase with a trading 'mentor' or 'support' contact is fine if they are meant to be helping.
Fact: No legitimate exchange, wallet provider or mentor will ever ask for a wallet's recovery or seed phrase. Anyone who obtains that phrase can take full control of the wallet, and because a crypto transfer cannot be reversed once made, sharing it typically means the funds are gone within minutes.
Age by age
- 11-13
At this age, real money crypto investment is unlikely, but the route in is usually through gaming: free Robux, rare skins, or 'item upgrade' offers that ask your child to move to an external site or wallet. Restrict trading and chat settings on platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, and make it an explicit rule that they never click links from in-game chat or download a crypto wallet app without asking you first. If they ask you to buy gift cards for an online friend or in-game trade, treat this as a clear warning sign and talk it through with them before doing anything.
- 14-16
Teenagers at this age are more likely to be introduced to crypto trading by peers or through Discord and Telegram groups promising 'signals' or guaranteed profits. Talk to them about why guaranteed returns are a fraud warning sign rather than a genuine opportunity, and agree that any decision to install a wallet app or move money into crypto goes through you first. Keep an eye out for secrecy around messaging apps or a sudden interest in accounts you do not recognise, and make clear that admitting a mistake will never get them in trouble.
- 17-plus
Young adults have greater financial independence and may be targeted with more sophisticated 'mentor' or investment group schemes, sometimes involving people they have only met online. Encourage them to check whether any platform or individual is authorised by the FCA before investing, and to treat a request for a wallet recovery phrase, or pressure to act quickly, as a reason to stop. If money has already been sent, remind them that reporting it promptly to Action Fraud and their bank gives the best chance of limiting further loss, and that this matters more than any embarrassment about how it happened.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
Sources
Was this page helpful?
Explore more
Stay informed on this topic
Get practical child safety updates in your inbox. No spam.